Currahee Stands Alone by Marc Wolfe
In early spring 2008, the 506 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (CURRAHEE) of the 101st Airborne Division (AIR ASSAULT) answered the call to support our Nation in Afghanistan.
The Currahee Brigade of band of Brothers fame formed the nucleus of Combined Task Force Currahee comprised of over 6000 servicemen, including a Polish battle group and a Provincial reconstruction Team from the Czech Republic. In partnership with Allies, Interagency teammates, and Afghan National Security Forces, the Currahees immediately began counterinsurgency operations providing critical support to Afghan development and governance.
Their area of responsibility in southeast Afghanistan was vast, complex and challenging, covering over 25,000 square miles of incredibly diverse, treacherous terrain, and located along 320 kilometers of the Pakistan border. The provinces of Paktika, Paktya, Khowst, Ghazni, Logar and Wardak were predominantly Pashtun with large populations of Hazaran and Tajik ethnic groups. Located along historically strategic lines, the fight was heavily contested by enemies of Afghanistan, with the Currahees and Afghan National Security Forces prevailing.
Combined Task Force Currahee’s sacrifice was significant with 32 American, Czech Republic, and Polish Soldiers, sailors and Civiliians giving their full measure of devotion to a cause they believed in.
This print honors their memory and the combat achievements of the entire Currahee nation. It reflects Currahees and their Afghan Army 203rd Thunder Corps partners air assaulting into the high mountain refuges to close with and destroy the enemy and to deny them key terrain. The Currahees routinely did this, sometimes at altitudes of over 9500 feet above sea level.
“Currahee”, the units battle cry and motto, is Cherokee for “Stands Alone. Formed 20 July, 1942 in Camp Toccoa, Georgia, the Currahees fought honorably in World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, and now Afghanistan.
Currahees stand alone, yet stand together with anyone that will join the fight, to accomplish the mission and to honor their lineage.